| Dear
EarthTalk: The 2008 Summer Olympics in China
are drawing a lot of attention right now for political reasons.
I’ve heard, though, that one ray of light is China’s
effort to make the event as green as possible. What’s
going on in that regard?
-- Josh Rogers, Concord, NH
| |
The
"Birdcage," one of seven Olympic stadiums
being built in Beijing for the upcoming 2008 Summer
Olympics. All are equipped with solar generators that
will provide most of the outdoor lighting. The entire
hot water supply for the Olympic Village will be powered
by solar energy -- and the main stadiums will receive
power from Beijing's first wind farm.
© Beijing 2008 Olympic Games |
It’s
true that China is using the upcoming Beijing Olympics as
a sustainability showcase, going so far as to dub the event
the “Green Olympics.” Through a partnership
with the U.S. government and the Maryland-based International
Center for Sustainable Development, China is giving Beijing
a green makeover to make the city a model for net zero pollution,
green building and sustainable community development.
According
to China’s Technology Minister Wan Gang, the Beijing
Olympics are expected to generate some 1.2 million tons
of carbon dioxide, in large part because of the flying the
world’s athletes will do to get to and from the games.
To offset these potent greenhouse gases, China will take
a series of measures, Wan says, including planting trees,
closing 1,000 small coal mines before and during the games
and banning up to a million cars from city streets.
Beijing’s
Olympic Village, where the Chinese government has been busy
erecting dozens of stadiums and other structures according
to rigorous green standards, is emerging as quite an example
of sustainable community development. The steel-looped Beijing
National Stadium, for instance, includes a rainwater collection
arrangement, a natural ventilation system and a clear roof
with inflatable cushions made from ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene),
a kind of plastic that increases light and heat penetration.
Another
example is the “Water Cube,” a spectacular-looking
structure that looks like a building made of bubble-wrap.
Officially known as the National Aquatics Center, it is
completely surrounded with ETFE pillows and is expected
to cut energy use by 30 percent. And when it has finished
serving its purpose as an Olympic venue, it has been built
to be converted to a shopping area and leisure center with
tennis courts, retail outlets, nightclubs and restaurants.
All
seven main Olympic stadiums are equipped with solar generators
capable of outputting 480 kilowatts of energy at any given
moment. Ninety percent of the lighting outside the stadiums,
as well as the entire hot water supply for the Olympic Village
will be powered by solar energy. Also, the main stadiums
will receive power from Beijing’s first wind farm.
While
the Olympic Games will only last for two weeks, environmentalists
hope the greening of Beijing will indeed continue beyond
the summer ‘08. Some proposals include building 14
wastewater treatment facilities to achieve 90 percent treatment
rate in Beijing, and extending potable water to the entire
city.
Also,
the municipal government of Beijing has invested in expensive
energy-efficient heating and transportation equipment that
will greatly improve environmental quality for decades hence.
Beijing, where 1,000 new cars roll onto the streets every
day, also plans to source clean energy from other parts
of China and through the purchase of pollution offsets on
a quickly expanding international market.
CONTACTS:
ICSD
Beijing 2008 Green Olympics Initiative; Beijing
2008 Olympic Games.
Dear
EarthTalk: How is it said that we are “losing
winter” because of climate change? It didn’t
seem so last winter, when it even snowed in places for the
very first time.
-- Peter Kim, Duxbury, MA
| |
If
you've ever enjoyed ice skating, sledding, skiing,
snow boarding or building a snowman, you should know
that the future of these enshrined institutions is
by no means guaranteed.
© Getty Images |
The effects of
global warming manifest themselves differently in different
locations, and winter is no doubt getting shorter and warmer
across New England, the Canadian Maritimes and Northern
Europe.
In New England,
average winter temperatures have increased 4.4 degrees Fahrenheit
since 1970. The years 2006 and 1998 were the first and second
warmest years on record in the U.S. since we started counting,
with the last eight five-year periods the warmest in history.
According to the National Climatic Data Center, that warming
has been accelerating over the last three decades, from
just over a tenth of one degree Fahrenheit per decade to
almost a third of a degree now.
By 2100, temperatures
in the Northeastern U.S. are predicted to have risen by
8-12 degrees Fahrenheit, with the number of snow days half
of what we are used to now. A recent study by the Union
of Concerned Scientists on the effects of global warming
in the Northeast concluded that, under some scenarios, “Only
western Maine is projected to retain a reliable ski season
by the end of the century, and only northern New Hampshire
would support a snowmobiling season longer than two months.”
And it seems
that as one moves farther north, more and more winter is
lost. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment of 2004 reported
that Arctic temperatures are now rising at nearly twice
the rate of the rest of the world (as much as 14 degrees
Fahrenheit over the next 100 years), reducing sea ice and
melting frozen soils. It’s been widely reported that
Alaska’s polar bears are probably doomed by 2050,
but the scale of this climatic shift will likely do much
more—completely changing the culture of the Arctic.
Global warming
impacts are far from monolithic: Some parts of the planet
are heating up and others are experiencing colder than average
temperatures and record snowfalls, just as climate models
predict. But the overall trend is clear: It’s getting
warmer, and winter is losing intensity and duration. “If
you’ve ever enjoyed ice skating, sledding, skiing,
snowboarding or building a snowman, writes E – The
Environmental Magazine, you should know that the future
of these enshrined institutions is by no means guaranteed.”
Winter’s
retreat may be sad for children intent on sledding, but
it also augurs badly for the economy, especially for businesses
reliant on snow. New England’s ski industry has experienced
sharp declines in the number of days their lifts are shuttling
people up the mountain. Snowmaking machines, originally
intended to just cover any slack left by Mother Nature,
now operate to capacity throughout the winter.
And snowmobile
manufacturers report a 50 percent drop in sales over the
last decade as the number of snow-covered days diminishes.
Yet another business casualty is New England’s maple
syrup industry, which has been thwarted in recent years
by early thaws which have depleted production capacity by
as much as 50 percent. According to Tom McCrumm of the Massachusetts
Maple Producers Association, there may no longer be a maple
sugar industry in New England by 2100.
CONTACTS:
National
Climatic Data Center; Union
of Concerned Scientists; Massachusetts
Maple Producers Association. |
